This research used semistructured interviews to investigate students' (n=32) understanding of electrochemistry following a 7-9 week course of instruction. Three misconceptions were identified and incorporated with five previously reported into an alternative framework about electric current involving drifting electrons. Also noted was the tendency…

The ability to recognize and recall details about objects helps scientists figure out the answers to problems. Observational skills can be developed by sketching objects in detail. Rapid drawing can improve students' sense of important features and rapid memorization of clues about an object. (JDD)

Elementary teachers (n=9) saw giftedness as having the common characteristic of creativity. However, in nominating students to gifted programs, teachers focused on classroom performance more than creativity. Thus, their observations more closely matched official definitions rather than their personal concepts, and they had not worked to align the…

Argues that a unified account for the observed phenomena in first- and second-language acquisition and in native speaker use of tense-aspect morphology (TMA) is found in the discourse function of TMA. Three cognitive principles (Relevance, Congruence, One to One) plus access to a notion of prototypicality can account for language learners'…

To resolve tension between general stages and conceptual specificity in neo-Piagetian theory, R. Case introduced the idea of central conceptual structures. To resolve difficulties of separating developmental level and conceptual diversity, this article reconceptualizes central conceptual structures as self-organizing systems that stabilize in…

Comments on Lewis's ideas about reconciling stage and specificity in neo-Piagetian theory in this issue. Summarizes R. Case's central conceptual structure and its relation to other neo-Piagetian theories. Notes similarities between Lewis and Piaget, suggesting that differences adhere to a limited number of general laws instead of being…

Investigates the cognitive functions of college students' use of underlining as a learning strategy. Finds that underlining does not serve an encoding or review function and may be counterproductive for inferential recall. (PRA)

Jerome Bruner identified three major ways of knowing: iconic, enactive, and symbolic. Schooling has been dominantly framed in the symbolic, and intelligence and achievement were measured in this realm. Gregory Bateson, concerned with mind-nature separation, differentiated between the map (a human-made abstraction) and the territory (the natural…

Discusses children's use of metaphors to create meaning, using as an example the pragmatic and "scientific" ways in which preschool children explain thunder and lightning to themselves. Argues that children are being shortchanged by modern scientific notions of abstractness and that they should be encouraged to create their own explanations of…

After a brief review of the contributions of factor analysis and regional analysis to the elaboration of the structures of spatial abilities, a facet design and regional model for spatial abilities are presented. A cylindrical-wedge model is proposed to represent the correlational structure of spatial ability tests. (SLD)

Presented are the results of a study of high school and college students concerning their thinking about functions of the human body. It was shown that students' thinking could be positively changed over the short term from teleologic to mechanistic. Sample survey questions are included. (CW)

The heart of literacy is the construction of meaning, which is rooted in experience, culture, and language. Respect for cultural and linguistic backgrounds must be incorporated into teacher-learner relationships. This is an essential component of effective literacy programs. (SK)

Considers the ways that conceptual mapping as a classroom technique can help students reflect critically on complex conceptual relationships. Shows how teachers can use conceptual mapping in the classroom. (HB)

The learning process may be described as personal maps of reality--the way in which individuals construct knowledge and how new experiences change the maps. When new material is encountered, learners place it somewhere on their maps; the teacher's role is to relocate it closer to the learner. (SK)

Presents a revised working definition of schema, lists four types of knowledge that individuals have (i.e., identification, elaboration, planning, and execution), and outlines issues in schema theory. The usefulness of schema in problem solving and information problem solving is discussed, and implications for teachers of information literacy are…